Rainbow Dash woke up with a start. Her breathing was slow and heavy. She had that same nightmare again. That horrible nightmare. The one she’d been having for months now.
Not much could scare the pegasus, but that nightmare would terrify even the hardiest of ponies. She tried to tell herself that it was a nightmare and nothing else, but it didn’t work. Rainbow Dash had to do something about this. This wasn’t something that a therapist or some medicine could fix. Rainbow Dash had to help herself.
The pegasus flew down to Ponyville and went to the first place she’d think the cause would be. Sugarcube Corner.
Rainbow Dash knocked on the door. Almost instantly, the door opened. Pinkie Pie was there. “Hiya, Rainbow! What’s up? What’re you doing here? Not that I’m complaining or anything! I always love the company!” She said, words coming out of her mouth fast enough to make a Sonic Rainboom.
“I just wanted to hang out.” Rainbow Dash said. Her voice faltered a bit. She wasn’t exactly used to lying. “Maybe we could try to cook? I need to get better at it.”
Pinkie Pie didn’t seem to notice. “Okie dokie loki!” She said in her permanently happy tune. Like always, this put a smile on Rainbow Dash’s face. The smile dropped almost instantly. This is how Pinkie was behaving in the nightmares.
Pinkie Pie turned around to grab some cooking materials. This was Rainbow’s chance to act. She grabbed a rolling pin off the counter. She swung at Pinkie as hard as she could. The rolling pin struck Pinkie in the back of her head and knocked her out instantly.
“Sweet dreams, Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash said to the unconscious earth pony. “I know I will tonight.”
Pinkie Pie woke up in a dark room. Her head was pounding. She tried to rub the back of her head to help soothe the pain, but her leg was tied to a table. Fear stabbed into the mind and heart of the Element of Laughter.
“You’re up. Good.” A voice came from the darkness that surrounded Pinkie.
“Where am I?” Pinkie asked quickly.
“You should know, Pinkie.” The voice said again, followed by a soft laughter. Rainbow Dash walked in front of Pinkie. “We’re in the basement of Sugarcube Corner. You know this place well. I thought you would be able to recognize the place you murdered me and Gilda.”
“What? Murder you? Murder Gilda? I’m not like that! You know me!” Pinkie Pie shouted. She began to cry. “Please, let me go, Rainbow Dash. We’re bestest friends!”
“Then why did you kill me? Why did you kill Gilda?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her sanity was slowly slipping. This wasn’t something a therapist or some medicine could fix.
Tears flowed down Pinkie’s face like a river. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“You’re lying. You know exactly what you’ve been doing!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She walked back into the shadows and returned shortly after with a small bag on wheels. Rainbow Dash studied Pinkie’s face. The pegasus held up a scalpel. She rotated it so the only source of light in the room, a candle at the base of the stairs, reflected into Pinkie’s eyes.
Pinkie started to shudder as the blade neared her flank. Her head was stuck, so she couldn’t turn to see what Rainbow Dash was going to do. She didn’t want to, anyway.
Rainbow Dash slowly cut into Pinkie Pie’s flank and made an outline around the Element of Laughter’s cutie mark. She cried out in pain and fear. “You can dish it out, but you can’t take it? I never expected you to be so hypocritical, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash moved to the other side and did the same.
“Why?” Pinkie asked. Her voice was weakened by tears.
Rainbow Dash looked at the earth pony. “You would do the same, Pinkie. If your ‘friend’ repeatedly murdered you in a slow, twisted way. You would want to defend yourself, right?” She asked. Her voice was furious. She moved her scalpel back to Pinkie’s flanks.
She dug the small blade in the fresh wounds. Rainbow Dash slowly began to tear off Pinkie’s cutie marks. She didn’t bother to keep them in one piece, like Pinkie did in the nightmares.
Tears flowed down Pinkie’s face. Her legs were burning. “Let me go, Rainbow.” She tried to make her voice strong, but the sharp pain ruined her voice.
Rainbow Dash giggled softly. “Ha ha! You rhymed!” Her expression turned serious. “Now you know how it feels, Pinkie. You know what I experienced.”
“That never happened!”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Pinkie Pie instantly stopped talking. She sobbed quietly. The pegasus looked at Pinkie. “You are Laughter. Why are you crying? Let’s put a smile on that face.”
Rainbow Dash placed the scalpel inside Pinkie’s mouth. The earth pony tried to kick her away, but to no avail; her rear legs were tied down as well as her front legs. The pegasus cut the right cheek of the earth pony from the corner of the mouth to the ears.
Pinkie Pie cried louder. She was amazed nopony above heard her. The scalpel moved to her left cheek. Pinkie Pie turned her head away.
“Don’t bother, Pinkie. You’re just making this longer for you and me.”
“Th-They’re going to find you out.” Pinkie managed to say with the blood pouring down her throat. “They’ll find me. They’ll put you in a cell for the rest of your life!”
Rainbow Dash simply smiled at that. She chuckled lightly. “I guess you really are the Element of Laughter, Pinkie. They won’t find me.” Rainbow Dash moved back into the dark.
Pinkie stared in horror as she saw Rainbow Dash with a bone saw in her mouth. “W-W-What’s th-that for?”
Rainbow Dash set the saw down next to Pinkie’s head. The pegasus looked over Pinkie. “You probably shouldn't talk, Pinkie. Your mouth is injured. The wounds might get infected. I’m telling you this as a friend.” She said in a mocking tone, then picked the bone saw back up. She held it next to Pinkie’s hoof. “Don’t worry, Pinkie. You have plenty enough pairs of wings, right? You have mine.”
Pinkie Pie then knew that Rainbow Dash’s sanity was too far gone for simple words to help. “No…” She barely managed to say. Her voice was quiet and weak, but Rainbow Dash heard and understood the earth pony.
“Hold your breath, Pinkie. This is going to hurt.” Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie thought she heard pain or regret in the pegasus’ voice. With what she had been doing to her, Pinkie sincerely doubted it.
Rainbow Dash lowered the saw to Pinkie’s pastern. The blade was cold on Pinkie’s fur. The cold was quickly replaced with warmth as Rainbow sawed into Pinkie.
Pinkie Pie bit her lip as hard as she could to keep from screaming again. More blood entered her throat from the self inflicted wound. Rainbow Dash noticed what Pinkie had done. “I told you to hold your breath, not to bite your lip. Now you've gone and bit part of it off.” She shook her head.
Rainbow Dash continued to saw off Pinkie’s hoof. The cutting of the bone sounded sickening. The pegasus stopped cutting. She held onto her hoof and pulled as hard as she could. A loud crunch echoed off the walls of the room.
The crunch forced Pinkie to slowly become unconscious. Of course, Rainbow Dash expected that to happen sooner or later. She walked into the darkness once again with a bucket of freezing cold water. She splashed the water onto Pinkie, who woke back up. “I was curious as to where you got that adrenaline, Pinkie. I couldn't find any, so I filled up some buckets of water.” She said calmly. “I only have four other buckets, so please. Don’t pass out too many times.”
Rainbow Dash began to cut off Pinkies next hoof, followed by the other two. Pinkie Pie willed herself to stay conscious. She knew full well of the pain, but she needed to fight in some way.
“Rainbow…” Pinkie managed to gurgle, despite the large amount of blood within her mouth. “I-I-I want to go home…”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “You are home, Pinkie. Did you forget? We’re in Sugarcube Corner.” Pinkie Pie started to cry again. “Tell me, Pinkie. How does that taste?”
She reached into Pinkies mouth. If Pinkie had been any more conscious, she would have bitten down as hard as she could have. Rainbow Dash stuck her hoof into her mouth, then spat out the blood. “Gross. Didn't expect you to be bitter. I’ll have to do something about that.”
The pegasus grabbed the scalpel again and reached into Pinkie’s open mouth. “Don’t fight it, Pinkie. It’ll just make it worse.” She said in a soothing voice. The same voice she used when reading Scootaloo a bedtime story.
Rainbow Dash slowly cut Pinkie’s tongue. She accidentally cut the tip off, which landed into Pinkie’s throat. The earth pony swallowed the tip on reflex. “Ugh. That’s disgusting.” Rainbow Dash said as she continued to remove Pinkie’s tongue.
“What’s wrong, Pinkie? Pony got your tongue?” Rainbow Dash casually tossed the tongue behind her. Pinkie Pie watched the tongue bounce off the wall and onto the floor, leaving blood splatters in both locations. Pinkie Pie tried to cry, but she couldn't. She was starting to suffer from the effects of dehydration.
“Shh… Don’t worry, Pinkie. It will all be over in a minute.” Rainbow Dash said in a soothing and motherly voice.
Pinkie Pie started to fade away again, but she fought to stay awake. An old memory entered her mind. The times she spent on the rock farm with her family. It was a dull, boring time. Pinkie thought she’d rather be back there than be here with Rainbow Dash.
Her mind shifted quickly to Princess Luna. She remembered hearing that Luna contacted ponies in their dreams. “Luna! Please help me!” She began to speak to the princess. “Rainbow Dash! She’s got-”
A wave of freezing cold water brought Pinkie to her senses and out of her dream state. The water felt soothing on her open wounds. “Stay with me, Pinkie. We’re not done yet.” Rainbow Dash said. She poured the rest of the bucket into Pinkie's mouth.
Rainbow Dash grabbed a pair of scissors from her bag. Pinkie started to hyperventilate. She hadn't the faintest idea of what the pegasus would do. All of the possibilities ran through her mind.
The Element of Loyalty raised the scissors. Pinkie closed her eyes as Rainbow thrust downwards.
Pinkie heard a thud and slowly opened her eyes. They focused between her legs. The scissors missed Pinkie, only to strike her unlucky tail. Rainbow Dash smiled.
She tugged on the scissors. It took some work to separate it from the table. The pegasus snipped the scissors a few times. She moved the scissors back in between Pinkie’s legs. The earth pony’s legs began to quiver in fear. She closed her eyes and listened to the slow, rhythmic snipping. There wasn't any pain caused by the scissors, however.
The Element of Laughter felt a poke on her shoulder. She cautiously opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash with a length of pink hair. The pegasus had a large smile like she just heard a joke.
Tears flowed down Pinkie’s cheeks and into the wounds on her cheeks. The tears made the wounds sting. It was nothing compared to the tremendous pain deep in her throat or on the ends of her limbs or on her flanks.
Rainbow Dash dropped the recently removed tail onto the floor. She moved the pair of scissors towards Pinkie’s head. Each and every snip made Pinkie flinch. She watched as her hair dropped onto the table.
Rainbow set the pair of scissors next to Pinkie’s ear. “Not the best work.” She said, observing the nearly bald pony. “Don’t worry. It’ll grow back.” She laughed and picked up the scissors.
There wasn't any more hair to cut. What was she going to do with the scissors?
Rainbow Dash quickly went for Pinkie’s ear. Her screams were simply deep gurgles. Rainbow assumed it was due to the lack of her tongue.
The ear was cut through easily. If it was that easy, she wouldn't even bother going for the other ear.
“And now time for the moment you've been waiting for.” Rainbow Dash said. She grabbed another bucket of water and splashed it onto Pinkie. She wanted her to be fully conscious for this.
The pegasus set the scissors away and grabbed back onto the scalpel. She hovered it above Pinkie’s torso. She hesitated to dig into the pony. A tear fell down her cheek.
Rainbow quickly wiped the tear away. She had to do this. If she didn't, she would keep having nightmares. She wanted to get rid of them as fast as possible. Of course, she would be going to sleep later that day. She could at least have a little fun.
The pegasus began to dig into Pinkie with the scalpel. The earth pony began to cry out again. Rainbow Dash cut a line at the base of Pinkie’s ribs and another on her waistline. She cut another connecting the two long cuts. “What was it you said to me, Pinkie? ‘I've got my I on you?’ Well, I’m giving it back.” She said, remembering the nightmares. They didn't seem to be nightmares to her anymore. Rainbow Dash truly believed the events actually happened to her.
Rainbow separated the flaps of skin and stuck them to the table with nails. The pegasus stared at the entrails of the earth pony. The heart was pumping blood. The lungs were working perfectly, but a little fast.
Rainbow shook her head to regain focus. She had a job to do. She decided quickly on what organ to target first.
She hovered her scalpel over Pinkie’s stomach. Pinkie gurgled loudly as the blade dug into her stomach.
The blade exited quickly, but the terrible pain was still in Pinkie’s stomach. Pinkie’s eyes closed. She wanted to die, but she knew Rainbow wouldn't have the mercy to end the pain.
The blade dug back into Pinkie, this time hitting the large intestine. Blood flew out of Pinkie and onto Rainbow’s face.
Rainbow Dash kept stabbing Pinkie like a maniac. She had originally planned to remove her organs, but something in her mind just snapped. Bloodlust entombed the pegasus. She noticed that the beats of Pinkie’s heart began to slow down.
Rainbow Dash sighed and willed herself to stop stabbing the poor mare. “I guess it’s over, Pinkie.” A massive wave of relief flooded Pinkie, but it was not nearly large enough to numb the pain. Rainbow Dash held the blade to Pinkie’s throat. “Sweet dreams, Pinkie.” She slowly slashed the throat of the earth pony and watched as blood poured out. Pinkie’s heart slowly stopped beating.
Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie’s corpse with satisfaction. Her job was done. Her nightmares would finally end. The pegasus smiled and wiped off the blood on her. Rainbow Dash left Sugarcube Corner and flew back home. It was already dark outside. Did she really spend all day with Pinkie?
It didn't matter to Rainbow. She smiled as she entered her bed and drifted off into sleep.
Rainbow Dash woke up with a start. Her breathing was slow and heavy. She had another nightmare. This one was different. It felt so real. She knew this one could never have happened. Rainbow Dash had more control than that.
The pegasus slowed her breathing and lowered her heart rate. Of course it was just a nightmare. Rainbow Dash stepped out of her bed and flew down to Ponyville.
“Hi, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight’s voice came from below. The pegasus landed in front of the unicorn. Rainbow Dash managed to put on a chipper expression despite the horrible nightmare. “Have you seen Pinkie Pie at all today? I haven’t seen her in two days.”
“N-No. Why?” Rainbow Dash asked. It was just a nightmare. Nothing else.
“I’m just worried about her. I had Spike deliver a letter to her.” Twilight looked around. “Usually, Pinkie responds by now.”
A sinking feeling entered Rainbow’s chest. It was just a nightmare. Nothing else. It didn't happen. “I’ll help you look for her, Twilight.” She put on a brave face.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I can always count on you.” Twilight smiled.
Rainbow Dash smiled as well. “I’ll look in Sugarcube Corner.” She flew off in that direction. This was more than just looking for her lost friend. She wanted -- no, needed -- to know if that was really a nightmare.
The pegasus stepped into the bakery. It was perfectly normal. Rainbow Dash let loose a sigh of relief. Of course, the nightmare took place in the basement. Her legs moved themselves towards the door leading to the basement.
Rainbow Dash feared the worst, but hoped for the best. She knew, deep in her heart, that one of the extreme possibilities would surely happen. Please be empty. Please be empty. She thought to herself repeatedly. “Please be empty…”
She opened the door. The first thing to happen to her was being attacked by a terrible stench. It was sickening, but sweet at the same time.
Rainbow Dash's mind knew what was in the basement, but her body was morbidly curious. Her legs moved down the stairs and into the basement. The candle was still lit, but almost out. Rainbow’s eyes rest upon the table that was still there. Of course, there was something that was on the table. It was difficult to identify what was on the table, but the Element of Loyalty knew exactly what it was. “Pinkie Pie…”
It slowly dawned upon Rainbow Dash what had happened. She slowly murdered one of her closest friends and enjoyed it. She claimed it was self defense, but of course it wasn't. Pinkie Pie had lost her life over some stupid nightmare. She rest her head on the table. Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what she had done.
Instead of fleeing the scene or freaking out, Rainbow Dash just sat there looking at the fresh corpse made by her hoof. Tears began to flow down her face, not because of what she had seen, but because of what she had done. The tears washed away some blood that somehow managed to get on her.
“Rainbow Dash? Are you down there?” Twilight Sparkle’s voice said from above. “You flew off before I could wish you luck.”
Oh no. Rainbow Dash thought. She had no idea what would happen to her. She needed to act fast.
The door opened slowly and Twilight walked down the stairs. “Oh dear Celestia, what’s that smell?” Twilight said.
Twilight, oblivious to the actions that had just occurred, stepped down to the bottom of the staircase. “There you are, Rainbow. Why didn't you answer me?”
Rainbow Dash didn't respond. She heard Twilight, but couldn't say anything. Twilight trotted up to the pegasus. It was then that she noticed the mangled corpse on the table that once belonged to Pinkie Pie.
Twilight wanted to look away from what used to be Pinkie Pie. She looked at Rainbow Dash and noticed the blood on her face. “Rainbow? You... “ Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight. The pegasus knew what was going through the unicorn’s mind.
A smile slowly grew on Rainbow’s face as she slipped back into insanity. Fear stabbed into Twilight. She wanted to run, but her legs refused to respond. “But… You’re Loyalty…”
“And Pinkie was Laughter. Do you know what she did to me?” Rainbow Dash said without hesitating. “She did the same thing I did to her. And since I admitted all of this to you, I can’t let you leave this room alive.” Rainbow Dash said. She grabbed the same blade that killed Pinkie Pie. She quickly stabbed Twilight twice in the stomach. The unicorn fell over next to the table.
“Rainbow…” Twilight barely spat out the words along with blood. “I… We were friends…”
“Shh…” Rainbow Dash said in a calming voice. She held the blade to Twilight’s throat. The candle burnt itself out. “Sweet dreams, Twilight.”